Tennis: There is fire in the Tsitsipas house!
World number 5 when approaching the end of the season, Stéfanos Tsitsipas has generally disappointed in 2023. Apart from his final at the Australian Open at the start of the year, the Greek has not shown any real progression through compared to previous years. At 25, the clock is ticking and he has already missed many opportunities to achieve his goals in tennis: winning a Grand Slam and becoming world number 1. Moreover, it is he himself who is starting to sound the alarm in the media.
World number 3 at his best, Stefanos Tsitsipas has now played in two finals in Grand Slam. When he first reached this stage, Roland-Garros in 2021, we said to ourselves that the Greek would end up winning a title as he had shown great things by leading two sets to zero against Novak Djokovic. In difficulty recently, in addition to having experienced movement in those around him, Tsitsipas seems to be in reflection… Moreover, the latter has just withdrawn from the Making Cup.
A missed opportunity?
Present in Davis Cup home to Greece to face Slovakia last week, Stefanos Tsitsipas had a difficult time. Very close to defeat against the 149th in the world, he then lost control against Alex Molcan. He therefore had time to speak in the local media. “There was a gap, roughly between 2018 and 2020, before Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune. Then all the spotlights were on me, on Zverev, on Dominic Thiem. Now the scene has changed. We are not that young anymore. These new young people play freely, they don’t think about anything” regret Tsitsipas.
Tennis: Out of sight, this crack is going through hell! https://t.co/dSEPgT6yQJ pic.twitter.com/XoFFed1dK3
— le10sport (@le10sport) September 18, 2023
A balance still to be found
Stefanos Tsitsipas already has a fine track record to get our teeth into: two titles to Montecarlothe Masters in 2019… But the Greek was indeed one of the players identified as winners of Grand Slam when he arrived on the circuit. “A Grand Slam title and number 1? It’s something I think about a lot, but it’s not everything. I was addicted to the sport as a kid – and it took something away from me. This does not mean that I am satisfied with what I have accomplished; I want to improve as a player. But the key for me is balance, between personal life, building something with someone, and progressing your career with the help of that person.” declared the one who is in a relationship with Paula Badosa for several months, former world number 2.
An entourage that raises questions
For years, Stefanos Tsitsipas is accompanied by his father Apostolos on the circuit, a very present character. This summer, the Greek changed something by starting a partnership with Mark Philippoussis and taking his father away for a while. If he found his way to victory by winning Los Caboshis first trophy in more than a year, he finally decided to part ways with the Australian very quickly. “I have heard hundreds of times that I had to change fathers, but these are people who know nothing about my daily life. I have often been misunderstood, but there is nothing I can do about it. I will continue to be myself. As far as Mark is concerned, this partnership is over and my father is taking over the reins” judged the Greek.
